President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has called upon heart surgeons to not only remove the pain and sufferings of the patients but also to educate the people on the need to change their life styles, do physical exercises and perform yoga in order to prevent heart diseases. The President was participating from Rashtrapati Bhavan in a programme on “Interaction on treatment of heart diseases through Teleconference,” organised by the Indian Association of Cardiovascular – Thoracic Surgeons, in Hyderabad today.

Speaking from Delhi in the teleconference, Dr Abdul Kalam said almost 50,000 heart operations were performed in the country every year. He said India had the largest number of people suffering from heart diseases and he wanted to know from the doctors and surgeons the reasons for the alarming rate of growth of the disease. He himself suggested a stress-free life, change in food habits with less fat and high fibres, regular exercise and yoga.

The President said the patients and their relatives considered the surgeon as God. He said behind every patient there would be around 100 relatives and friends. These people should be educated about the need for a healthy life which in turn would create a healthy nation. He said if 50,000 surgeries were being performed every year, the surgeons had the opportunity of speaking to as many numbers multiplied by 100, he said. The experienced heart surgeons should also become teachers so that the young students would learn the latest techniques in treating heart diseases.

Dr Abdul Kalam said recently he had inaugurated a Cardiac Cath Lab at the CARE Hospital in Hyderabad and Robotic heart surgery at Escorts Hospital in New Delhi. These facilities should be made available throughout the country, including the rural areas, he said.

Replying to a question from a doctor, the President said some of the rare heart surgeries should be telecast live using the satellites in order to educate the young doctors in different parts of the country.

In spite of angioplasty, bypass surgery and the use of stents, there was need for replacement of some heart components like valves. There was a possibility that every human component, including the heart, could be cloned. He asked the doctors to promote stem cells research and find answers to several heart problems being faced by the people. “You must have an intense research group on stem cells so that the weak and failing hearts could be reactivated,” the President said.

To another question by a doctor that heart valves were being imported and hence costly, he said now heart valves like Chitra Valves were produced in the country and were extensively used in the country.

The President fielded several other questions and appeared to be quite at home during the teleconference. While showing his deep knowledge about the subject, he cracked jokes and made the entire teleconference very lively. Dr Arun Tiwari and Dr D Prasad Rao, eminent heart surgeon, both from CARE Hospital, conducted the teleconference for the first time in the country in such a unique manner.

Dr Arun Tewari talked about the successful functioning of the telemedicine system in his hospital. He said it was essentially a computer technology used for medical diagnosis and treatment at distant places. He dedicated the entire technology to Dr Kalam.

Though the conference was inaugurated by the President through Teleconference, the official inauguration of the 49th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Cardiovascular –Thoracic Surgeons will be done by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu at Shilpakala Vedika, in the Hitec city today evening. About 1,000 delegates would participate in the four-day event.